Keith Randolph Jr.
Football - DT
College
University of Illinois
Keith Randolph Jr. played his high school football at Belleville West High School where he made 56 tackles, 9.0 TFLs and 7.0 sacks as a senior, earning All-South Western Conference first team honors. This is even more impressive considering he did not start playing football until his junior year of high school. He earned 3-star recruit ratings from 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN out of high school. He was highly recruited, receiving offers from several power five schools, and ultimately choosing Illinois as his next step in his career.
In his first year with Illinois in 2019, Randolph played in 4 games recording 7 tackles and 0.5 TFL. In 2020, he played in 5 games making 8 tackles. He redshirted each of his first two seasons due to limited playing time and the pandemic season.
In his first full season with Illinois, he played in 10 games making 7 starts. He had 42 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, one interception, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble on the season. Last season, he played in all 13 games for the Illini, making 12 starts and had another good season making 53 tackles, 13 TFL and 4.5 sacks. He earned All Big-10 Third Team honors and was Illinois’ Howard Griffith Impact Player Award winner. His success over 2021 and 2022 earned him some national attention heading into this season. His success has continued as he has recorded 49 tackles, 4 TFL, and 1.5 sacks in his 10 games this year.
Randolph plays with tremendous drive and explosiveness of the snap, creating leverage by staying low to the ground. He has the power and strength to ward off offensive linemen and consistently creates pressure at the point of attack with his push. His great upper body strength and length help him shed blocks and is the reason for his success in the pass rush.
Being a power-minded rusher, Randolph is not the most mobile player on the line. His lateral movement is good enough to cover the two gaps on either side of him, but he does not possess the speed or agility to be consistently successful outside of the tackles. His speed is good enough to chase down a runner in the backfield, but is not good for any play outside the pocket. He also has a limited set of rush moves, which leads him to be predictable at times.